Bimetallic thermometer for use in the dairy industry



y 1952 A. H. LAMB 2,603,091

BIMETALLIC THERMOMETER FORUSE IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY Filed May 16. 1949 Patented July 15, 1952 iMET L Q- THETDAIIBY .HERMOMETER FQRUSE I Anthony H: Lamb, Hillside, N: J.,. assignonlto Weston. lll etiieal nst ment PPPoratiP h. Newark N-. .a. rp aaf NQWJ$$ Application May-16, 1949, erial 1o. 93', 5 (i 4- Thisin-Vention relates etersfor useinthe. dairy. industry, and: particu-.. larlysto bimetallic thermometers vforinstallation onlthesso-called bevel joint flttingsof dairypipe.

lines. and. which satisfy. the. customary State and Federal sanitary regulations for the dairy in.- dustry.

The; sanitary. regulations. are quite 1 rigid and bimetallic.thermometersandmountingstherefor.

whiohemeetthescustomaryTsanitary-requirements for use in the dairy industry.- An object, is. to provide bimetallic thermometers, or sockets for receiving-bimetallic--thermometers, which may be mounted in bevel joint fittings as used in the dairy industry; More specifically, an object is to 95631? m ta l c 1rm9l wicke s: 9! rceivi'r'ig'bimetallio thermometera libz polished. stainlesssteel surfaces ,for con ct with milk flowing through the pipe lines of a dairy or milk-processing plant, andwith polished beveled:-

flangesfoaleakproof.sealing upon'the flanges-of beveltjointsfittingsr liese. andiother .objectsand the advantages =,0f. thesinYentien will be apparent.-Irom.-the following sneeificationiwhen. takenwith the.accompanying drawings, imwhich: i

Fig. 1 is an elevation,with parts in section, of

a thermometer embodying the invention and mounte'dii'n a beve1flange-fltting; "Figz -isanendelevation-ofthe-same Fig. 3 is a central section through a part of a pipe fitting and a sanitary thermometer socket embodying the invention, a thermometer being shown within the socket; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, with parts in section, of a thermometer socket. a large dial thermometer, and a fitting nut as seen when removed from the pipe fitting.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the reference numeral l identifies a conventional bevel joint T-fltting of stainless steel such as used in the dairy industry. The inner walls of the fitting are smooth and highly polished, and the ends of the passages are beveled at an angle of 45 to form .to; bimetallic thermom- 9s tends..to theTperi-phery-QL the flange. and whichiis,

insure. leakproof Joints;

seats against which. the correspondingly. beveled. ends 2 ,ofpipes 3-: may. be drawn. by glandinuts; 4.. with internal flanges which engagev collars 5; on.v the pipes. Thethreads I 6.. ofythe. fitting. and nuts. are square. machine. threads-of relatively wide pitch to. facilitate: dis assembly of the piping, for.

daily: cleaning, and subsequentareassembly... cooperating beveled. surfaces. of; the fitting and; the. "pipes. aressmoothly and: accuratelyyground; to. The milk undentreat:. ment'; may. flow. through the. pipe system in; the, direction indicated byathearrows. (1,111- and, if. the fitting were: not; provided; with. a. thermometer.

embodying the .invention, anotherpipe; ole-a .plng

. with a. beveled-seat -.w.ould-:Ioe secured-"to.- the; rights;v

forcedinto-leakproof :enga ement'with the =beveled seat-on: the-.pipe;. fitting a: gland. nut-4.; The: helical bimetallic elementsBaof the. -;thermomet rr is; located within the. .inner;--end of anelon atsd 5"?hollowsstem' 9.:1whieh merges. smoothly;into.the.v

innerr a a: fa her n a 1: and the nd ba he... met c =1 element; are. secured... respect vely: og. thestem and-to aistafl l fliwhichisrloosely uided for rotation: byyringqb aringss I .l fixed withimthe; stem. A pointer I2 is secured to thenutsr end; of thE-SDEfiT I 01in front z fr eraduated seale plate I3;11QC8.tBd-f nith n catorqeadsorcasing: 1.4.;- which I) eXtnds, forwardly: from; the.=- mountin flanealz- The- -cain snroteo eda ainstdama e; x p f tant allyxa xialr blQWSrZ since: it..- within the shallow cylindrical recess formed by herfianses i he=- e1andut- -;4

.Thew uriacesg f--thermount ns flanseslia da on" thehollowzstemfi.arestainless and-highiypolishedf. to facil tates.clea inaand' st rilizationsand ne tiqn after'cl aninsn 'Ifh afi nseand'. st m-are; preferably of stainless steel, and they may be integral and turned from cylindrical bar stock or from a casting. Other methods of assembly may be employed as, for example the flange and stem may be separately formed, either to exact or approximate sizes, welded, and the welded joint ground smooth. Drop forging processes may be employed to form the flange and stem assembly, or parts thereof which are then welded to each other. The particular method of forming the flange and stem assembly is not an essential feature of the invention but a one-piece construction machined from bar stock or a casting is presently 5:; preferred.

The surface of the stem 9 and the inner face of the flange l which is contacted by the milk are ground and polished to a so-called #4 Dairy Finish," or better, to satisfy the customary sanitary regulations of the dairy and milk-processing industries.

An alternative construction which permits use of commercially available bimetallic thermometers is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. As shown in Fig. 3, a socket for mounting a conventional there mometer in a pipe fitting includes a beveled flange l5 for seating upon the beveled outer end of a passage through a fitting l', and a tubular section IS with a closed inner end. The flange I5 I i is counterbored and provided with threads 11 for receiving the threaded mounting head of a thermometer having a stem 9 which extends snugly .which the casing M of a thermometer may seat when the pipe fitting is so located that it is prac-r gtical to employ a thermometer with a relatively .small diameter casing and scale plate.

The socket is formed of stainless steel, and preferably as a one-piece assembly of mounting flange l5 and tubular section It; although these parts may be separately formed, either completely or in part, and united by welding. The surfaces which contact the milk are smoothly ground and polished, and the tubular section is flared at its outer end to merge smoothly into the inner face of the flange 15. The bevel surface of the flange is of course finished to form a leakproof joint with the complementary beveled surface of the pipe fitting.

When the pipe fitting is at some distance. above floor level or is otherwise so located that the thermometer must be read from a distance, a thermometer casing 14 of large diameter mustbe provided to house a large diameter graduated scale, see Fig. 4. The thermometer casing may be as large as, or larger than, the gland nut 4 a leakproof joint between the socketfl'an'ge l5- and the fitting.

- It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments herein shown and described since various modifications fall within the spirit and scopeof'the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A bimetallic thermometer for mounting ina bevel joint pipe fitting by means including a gland nut having an inturned clamping flange, said thermometer including a rigid" mounting flange with a beveled surface for seating upon a bevel joint surface of a pipe fitting, said beveled surface extending to the periphery of the mounting flange, a tubular section having an outer end flaring smoothly into the inner face of the mounting flange, the inner end of said tubular section being closed, a helical bimetallic element within the inner end of said tubular section, a staff secured to said bimetallic element and projecting outwardly through said mounting flange, an indicator casing into which said staff extends,

a graduated scale within said casing, and a pointer carried by said staff for cooperation with said scale; said indicator casing having a diameter and axial length to seat within the shallow cylindrical recess defined by the inturned clamping flange of a gland nut.

2. A bimetallic thermometer as recited in claim 1, wherein said mounting flange and tubular section constitute a socket, said flange is counterbored and threaded in alinement with the bore of the tubular section, said casing is provided witha threaded mounting head for reception in the threaded counterbore of the mounting flange, and a hollow stem is secured to said mounting head to enclose and support said bimetallic element; said casing, mounting head and stem constituting, with the parts carried thereby, a unitary thermometer assembly for mounting in said socket.

3. A socket for mounting a bimetallic thermometer in a bevel joint fitting as employed in the dairy industry, the thermometer including a cylindrical indicator casing carried by a threaded mounting head; said socket comprising a mounting flange with a beveled surface for seating upon a bevel joint surface of a pipe fitting, a tubular section having aclosed inner end and an outer end flaring smoothly into the inner face of said beveled flange; and said flange being counterbored to provide a housing for the indicator casing and threaded to receive the threaded mounting head of a thermometer.

REFERENCES cI'rEn The following references file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 559,288 Great Britain Feb. 11, 19.44

- IVANTHONYH. LAMB. are of record in the Date 1 a 

